RESTORING THE TRADITIONAL NAME – ȽÁUWELṈEW

ȽÁUWELṈEW (The place of refuge) is best pronounced as: Tlay will nooth

Possibly May/June 2015, elders of the Saanich First Nation may host a march to restore Mount Newton`s traditional name, ȽÁUWELṈEW.

The march will likely commence at the parking lot, and follow the summit access road to the airport radar facility. Park & ride transportation is likely planned.

SȾÁ¸EU¸TW̱ (Tsawout) hereditary chief Eric Pelkey said: “The area is sacred to the Saanich people and has been linked to its stories and history for tens of thousands of years. We`re acting on a long-held wish to reclaim the name ȽÁUWELṈEW.”

– 1852: the name Mount Newton first appears on Joseph Pemberton’s peninsula map.

– 1978: Tsartlip elder Dave Elliott created the SENĆOŦEN Alphabet.

– 1984: the Saanich Indian School Board adopted the Dave Elliott Alphabet to help preserve the SENĆOŦEN language, culture and history.

– 1990: this author collaborated with W’S’ANEC elder Gabriol Bartlemen and BC Parks to name three trails and a stream within John Dean Park; today John Dean Park has:

ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ TRAIL // ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ ŚKEM¸SET

SLEKTAIN TRAIL // SLEKTAIN ŚKEM¸SET

ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ SUMMIT // THUNDERBIRD TRAIL – ZINCO SOL

RAVEN CREEK // SQTO¸; SPOOL

ARBUTUS Trail // ḰEḰEYIȽĆ ŚKEM¸SET

– 2013: the renaming has the support of a wide variety of groups and community leaders.

– 2014: BC Parks has approved a permanent sign location at the summit, similar to the 2013 PKOLS sign carved by artist Charles Elliott. An interruptive sign telling the “Legend of the Great Flood” is planned for the Thunderbird Trailhead in the parking lot.

One Comment

I read an article on CBC today about changing the name of the park, except the authours did not include how to say the new name for us settler allies (and everyone really) who are unfamiliar with the alphabet.